Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is Equity and inclusion? A.
Equity is the fair treatment, access, opportunity and advancement for
all students, faculty and staff in every stage of their education and/or
career at Nassau Community College.

Inclusion refers to the way
an organization configures opportunity, integration, communication,
information and decision-making to optimize the leverage and potential
of its diversity for improving decision-making, organizational
effectiveness and performance.

Q. What is Affirmative Action? A.
Affirmative Action refers to positive steps aimed at increasing the
inclusion of historically excluded groups in employment, education,
accommodation, business, etc. Such steps are not designed to offer
preferential treatment to or exclude any group. To the contrary,
Affirmative Action Policies are intended to promote access for the
traditionally underrepresented through heightened outreach and efforts
at inclusion.

Q. Who at Nassau Community College should I contact if I have a complaint regarding discrimination or harassment? A. The Associate Vice President for Equity and Inclusion is the College’s Affirmative Action/ADA-504 Officer.

Q. What is Sexual Harassment? A.
Sexual Harassment consists of unwelcome sexual advances, request for
sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

The
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is the federal agency
responsible for enforcing Title VII. The EEOC Guidelines, 29 C.F.R.
Section 1604.11, provide the following definition of sexual harassment:

Unwelcome
sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or
physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when
(1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a
term or conditions of an individual’s employment, (2) submission to or
rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for
employment decisions affecting such individual or (3) such conduct has
the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s
work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive
working environment.

Sexual Harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:

The victim as well as the harasser may be a women or a man. The victim does not have to be the opposite sex.

The harasser can be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the
employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.

The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.

Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.